Movie Name: Money Monster (2016)
Director: Jodie FosterProducer: Lara Alameddine, George Clooney, Daniel Dubiecki, Grant Heslov
Screenplay: Jamie Linden, Alan Di Fiore, Jim Kouf
Story: Alan Di Fiore, Jim Kouf
Star Cast: George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Jack O'Connell
Music: Dominic Lewis
Genre: Thriller-Drama
Release date: 12 May 2016 (Cannes Film Festival), 13 May 2016
Country: United States
Language: English
Story: Money Monster is an upcoming 2016 American thriller film directed by Jodie Foster and written by Alan Di Fiore, Jim Kouf and Jamie Linden. The film stars George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Jack O'Connell, Dominic West and Caitriona Balfe. It follows a TV personality, Lee Gates, and a viewer, Kyle Budwell, who takes Gates as a hostage after losing his family's money on a bad tip by Gates. Filming began on February 27, 2015, in New York City. TriStar Pictures is set to release the film on May 13, 2016.
The project Money Monster was first announced by Deadline on February 7, 2012, when Daniel Dubiecki launched his own film production company The Allegiance Theater. It would be the company's first produced film. IM Global would finance while Dubiecki would produce along with Stuart Ford. The film is about a TV personality, Lee Gates, who is held hostage by a viewer, Kyle, who lost all of his money on a bad tip from Lee during his show. Alan Di Fiore and Jim Kouf wrote the script of the film. On October 11, 2012, Jodie Foster was set to direct the Money Monster. Lara Alameddine would also produce the film, announced in May 2014. On July 25, 2014, TriStar Pictures won the rights to finance and release the $30 million budgeted film, whose latest draft was written by Jamie Linden. Clooney and Grant Heslov were also set to produce for their Smoke House Pictures.
On May 8, 2014, it was announced that George Clooney was director Foster's choice to star in the film as a TV personality, Lee Gates, but the deal to star was not confirmed yet. Clooney's involvement was confirmed in July 2014. Jack O'Connell and Julia Roberts were added to the cast November 14, 2014 to star along with Clooney in the film, where O'Connell would play Kyle Budwell, a blue-collar worker who feels he has no choice but to take Lee hostage on the air in order to increase a stock's value after losing all of his money on a bad tip from Lee, and Roberts would play Patty Fenn, the director and executive producer of the program "Money Monster" and also as Clooney's love interest. Caitriona Balfe joined the cast of the film on January 29, 2015 to play the head of PR for the company whose stock bottomed. Dominic West signed-on on February 25, 2015 to star in the film as the CEO of the company. Christopher Denham also joined the cast on March 4, 2015 to play a producer of the show.
In October 2012, filming was scheduled to begin early 2013. In July 2014, it was announced that the production would begin on the film right after Clooney completed the Coen brothers' Hail, Caesar! Principal photography on the film began in New York City on February 27, 2015. Clooney was spotted on March 1 arriving at the Kaufman Astoria Studios in Astoria, NYC to film the scenes of Money Monster. On April 8, filming began on Wall Street in Financial District, Manhattan, where it would last for 15 days. A scene would also be shot in front of Federal Hall. Some re-shooting for the film took place in mid-January 2016 at New York City on William Street and Broad Street.
In August 2015, Sony Pictures Entertainment set the film for an April 8, 2016 release. The film was later pushed back to May 13, 2016.
